Rudo y Cursi at the TFF

For his first feature as director, Carlos Cuaron wanted to make a movie about a soccer player who disappears at the height of his fame. Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal both wanted the lead; rather than choose, Cuaron widened the scope of the story to encompass not one but two futboleros. Then, naturally, each wanted the other's role, because "that's how they are in real life."

Luna and Garcia Bernal became close --- no pun intended --- during the filming of Y Tu Mama Tambien, written by Cuaron and directed by his brother. (As they explained during the Q&A, with "less hair and more body fat," the actors realized they couldn’t have made a sequel, even if they’d wanted to.) Here, they play brothers who both become famous. The movie flippantly chronicles their rises and falls. It’s full of sibling rivalry and hijinks and goofiness, but perhaps the best reason to see it is its truly terrible rendition, oft-repeated version of I Want You to Want Me, which has become a phenomenon in Mexico.

Photo: thanks